India squad for Asia basketball meet announced

After being dropped from the national squad on fitness grounds, Prashanti Singh has been given a callback into the side for the 25th FIBA Asia Championship in Bangkok.

The 29-year-old forward from Delhi has been giving it her all during the national coaching camps in order to reclaim her place in the side. The Asian meet is scheduled to take place between October 27 and November 3 in Bangkok, Thailand. A training-cum-preparation camp ahead of the event is scheduled for October 15 – October 25 in Dongguan, China.

Roopam Sharma, CEO of Basketball Federation of India (BFI), is reported to have played a crucial role in obtaining the necessary permissions from Sports Authority of India (SAI) in order to have Prashanti included in the squad.

Prashanti did not participate in the national basketball championship in Ludhiana, but in order to allow players an opportunity to excel she and other players were allowed by the BFI to take part in the coaching camps.

Prashanti is said to have impressed in the camp and her aggressive skills have been cited as one of the main reasons for her comeback into the squad.

“It’s nice to be again a part of the team but I won’t call it a comeback. It’s transparent now as my exclusion last time wasn’t. This time too, I had to face similar problems as I was kept waiting for two months for approval to join the camp when others were preparing.”, Prashanti said speaking to TOI.

“We are here for the players and those who have the potential should be given a fair chance. The deserving players should always be considered. And depending on their performance during the national coaching camps they can get in to the team. I will ensure that Indian team is always represented by best players.”, said BFI CEO Roopam Sharma.

“During the junior nationals in Cuttack we discussed all such issues and amended the minutes to give players what they deserve.”, she added.